Witness in Gonzalez trial: People drunk, relaxed before fatal stabbing

The man who brought Daniel Gonzalez to Geoffrey McKinnon's home in 2009 said he saw no signs that anything would lead to McKinnon being killed.

By Norman Miller/Daily News staff

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

By Norman Miller/Daily News staff

Posted Apr. 24, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 24, 2013 at 10:01 PM

By Norman Miller/Daily News staff

Posted Apr. 24, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 24, 2013 at 10:01 PM

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The man who brought Daniel Gonzalez to Geoffrey McKinnon's home in 2009 said he saw no signs that anything would lead to McKinnon being killed.

Testifying in Gonzalez's Middlesex Superior Court murder trial on Tuesday, James Cowperthwaite said everyone seemed to be getting along in the hours before McKinnon was stabbed to death.

"Everyone seemed relaxed," said Cowperthwaite. "The music was kind of catching the mood. Everyone was drinking. There was nothing hostile."

Cowperthwaite, along with Gonzalez and a third man, Paul Silveria, had gone to McKinnon's 307A Grant St., apartment sometime after midnight on June 14, 2009. Cowperthwaite brought a large bottle of vodka and Kool-Aid to use as a chaser.

During the early morning, Cowperthwaite said he was "wasted" and everyone else was drunk. He said he and McKinnon's girlfriend, Aubrey Riordan, were flirting with each other.

Cowperthwaite said Riordan went upstairs, and gave him a "come on look," so he followed her to the second floor, where he said she performed a sexual act on him.

"I began to hear shouting and screaming, yelling, 'Let's go,' " said Cowperthwaite. "Danny was going, 'Let's go. We need to get the (expletive) out of here.' "

Cowperthwaite said he, Gonzalez and Silveria ran to his Elliot Street apartment. He said he had no idea that someone stabbed McKinnon.

"He (Gonzalez) said 'We (expletive) him up,' " said Cowperthwaite. "I figured it was a little fight or tussle or something."

Cowperthwaite said he learned it was more than just a fight when he and Gonzalez went back toward Grant Street because he thought he left his cellphone there. When they arrived, police were swarming the apartment.

"That's when I started to get a little worried," he said. "I asked him (Gonzalez), 'What's going on?' He said, 'We (expletive) him up bad.' Danny was amped. We were still pretty wasted though."

Cowperthwaite is scheduled to resume the stand today.

Also on Tuesday, Judge Kathe Tuttman said she would not allow certain portions of Gonzalez's interview recorded by police because they mention earlier criminals and that the remarks could prejudice jurors.

The statements they won't hear include Gonzalez referring to shooting his brother a number of times several years ago and him saying, "When I black out, I go crazy. When I black out, I don't remember anything. My mom be like, 'You tried to do this and this,' and I don't remember.' "

Tuttman said she would allow the jury to hear Gonzalez say the first thing he thought about after McKinnon was killed was to throw away the knife.

Also on Tuesday, the jury of nine men and seven women visited the Grant Street apartment and toured the two-floor unit. They also saw the drain where authorities say Gonzalez threw the murder weapon.

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Gonzalez, 23, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For live trial updates, follow Norman Miller on Twitter at @Norman_MillerMW, #gonzalezmurdertrial.